Lunch Date with a Goth, an Indie Chick, and a Wide-Eyed Bubble Boy
by Rufus T. Serenity
Summary: Roughly a month after TDAS ended, three friends have lunch together. For different reasons, all three of them rarely did this sort of thing, if ever. To the shock of at least one of them, all three teens find it to be very enjoyable. Gwen, Zoey, and Cameron discuss many aspects of the previous season as well as some of the aftermath of those aspects with earnestness and humor.


**Author's Notes: Hey guys and girls! Here is a one-shot that I had a blast writing! :) **

**Anyway, this is set roughly a month after the finale of Total Drama All-Stars. The recent friendship trio of Cameron, Gwen, and Zoey are at a restaurant for a second lunch date. While waiting for their ordered meals, they discuss a plethora of topic relating to the 5****th**** season of Total Drama with friendly concern and humorous quips. **

**This one-shot is a piece that is in some ways more than a one-shot. You see TDAS, over the course of the two episodes before the finale, went from being a great season to one that was very mixed. I'm still unsure whether I'm ultimately more pro or con for Total Drama All-Stars. Despite everything else that might have happened, I at least have to give TDAS the following praises: it fully redeemed Gwen and it built friendships for her with Zoey and Cameron. Those things were great to see and prevent me from fully hating TDAS despite that maybe being what I should likely do. So, I wanted to do a simple story with these three awesome friends just hanging out. Maybe in the process of writing their dialogue I might come one step closer to deciding my final thoughts on Total Drama All-Stars? If not, at least I'll enjoy this. **

**Also, I had the idea for this and even some of it written before the finale of TDAS aired. So when I saw Zoey interacting with Gwen and Cameron, it was a delight! That one episode added so much awesome material that I enjoyed writing a lot. **

**And enjoy it I did. Seriously, I don't think I've encountered a story that flowed so naturally or was such a delight to write. Then again, this is a friendship one-shot with my two favorite characters and another one who a really like as well. So I guess it shouldn't be that shocking that it came to me so easily or that it was so much fun. **

**With me hoping that this translates to you, here's my Cameron/Gwen/Zoey friendship one-shot: Lunch Date with a Goth, an Indie Chick, and a ****Wide-Eyed ****Bubble Boy**

* * *

For the second time, the three former contestants of Total Drama were seated at a restaurant within traveling distance for all three. They all sat at the same square table.

Social gatherings like this were previously unheard of for all three, for varying reasons; ranging from not wanting to engage in them, there not being anyone around who wanted engage in it with them, or being literally cut off from the rest of the world in a bubble.

Despite this sort of thing being previously untried, the first time was a pleasant experience, so much so that even the one of them who had the least faith in the idea agreed to another. Currently, that teen of littlest faith was struggling to breath from laughter so intense it was literally making her hold her sides with her pale hands.

"Oh ho ho! No more, please, haa haa ha ha ha!" Gwen struggled to say in a normally uncharacteristic full-hearted laughter.

"Wait, wait, it gets even better!" Zoey says while showing one of her hands in an attempt to let Gwen allow her to finish the story, recalling a very special occurrence from the fourth season that the Indie Chick and the other person seating at the table saw first hand. "After being flung into the outhouse by Scott's trap, Chris MacLean was stuck in a pit of poo for the rest of the day!" The Redhead was then trapped in unstoppable laughter.

All three of the teens, Zoey, Gwen, and Cameron entered a new round of heavy laughs! The laughter of the three teens at Chris' misery lasted for several very happy minutes.

"Man, I regret not watching the episodes after my cameo on Revenge of the Island. That was truly a fitting punishment for someone like Chris." Gwen says, her laughter ended.

"I'm not so sure." Cameron interjects. "In _the Divine Comedy_ being stuck in poo forever is the punishment for flatterers…and I think Chris is much worse than a mere flatterer."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself. Now then, which of the nine circles of Hell is proper for someone has unrepentantly vile as MacLean?" Gwen says, tapping her chin.

"Now Gwen, we talked about this last time. No discussions of enteral damnation, however fitting, while having lunch with friends." Zoey playfully chided the Goth.

"Oh, poo-poo, Zoey. The everlasting torment of the damned is fitting table conversation." Gwen says, responding in an equally playfully and insincere scolding.

"Besides, Zoey, didn't you indirectly bring up that incident when you were in the spa." Cameron asks the Redhead.

"Well…maybe…" Zoey says with a blush and a finger brought to her lips in embarrassment. This caused Gwen to raise one of her eyebrows. "I kinda, uh...I kind of told Chris, so he'd stop complaining to me about the spa, that I was having a bathroom emergency…the explosive kind."

Gwen laughed hard at hearing this with the context of what had happened previously. "Intentional or not, I must, well played Zoey, well played." Zoey's blush increases. "I only wish I had thought of something like that. After one night of him endlessly complaining about how the soap was actually made of soap and how that made him a peasant, spending a cold night on Bony Island was a refreshing change of scenery."

"Wow…" Cameron says wide-eyed. "Makes me glad I never won by myself. That sounds almost as bad as being flushed down the Flush of Shame." He then shudders.

"Was it that bad?" Zoey asks, concerned.

"You have no idea. I question if I'll ever be fully ok being around a toilet." Gwen says, also shuddering. "But I still can't believe that Chris flushed you, Cam, in a full-body cast, a wheelchair, and a bubble. Even by Chris's morally lax standards that was extreme!"

"Yeah, I was pretty scared. But I wasn't flushed for that long. And despite my fears, it didn't make my injuries any worse. Even after being flushed I was in nothing but a bubble and an arm sling by the show's finale. It all turned out ok in the end, didn't it?" Cameron asks with a warm, happy smile.

Gwen shakes her head side-to-side with a smile. "You are really something else, Cam. If that had been me, I'd still want to gouge Chris's eyes out with rusty spoons. I guess you're the better man…uh, person."

"Well, if you did do that…I wouldn't lose any sleep over it." Cameron says with a smirk that looked oddly dark and out of place on the normally calm and sweet Bubble Boy.

As Gwen chuckles at this, Zoey says to Cameron with a smirk, "Wow. I never would have guessed that you had a bit of a dark streak in you Cam. But that's ok. I'm honestly not sure how I would feel after being flushed."

"Luckily for you, you never had to find out. One of the perks of being a finalist, I guess." Gwen comments.

"I'm not sure if perks is the right word, but yes. I still can't believe I made it to the finale! I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would actually get that far in the game!" Zoey gushes.

"I always knew you could. In fact, you should have during Revenge of the Island. If only Lightning didn't win that challenge and boot you off." Cameron says.

"Aw thanks! That's so sweet!" Zoey happily exclaims, making Cameron slightly blush.

"No, that's fact. Based off of what I saw during All-Stars and what Cam told me about the previous season after my cameo, I would have been shocked if you didn't get into the finale." Gwen adds with her voice normal but her showing a normally unseen smile.

Now it was Zoey who was faintly blushing, not use to such shared praise from others. "Wa-well…maybe…but I doubt I'd have done as well without you two helping me."

"Believe me, after getting us out of those balloons, it was the least we could do." Gwen says. "As if being flushed wasn't enough, they also had to put us in fart balloons too?!"

"Yeah…about that. Did they, you know…smell as bad as you'd think?" Zoey asks.

"Oh, heavens to mercy, no." Gwen says, unusually wide-eyed and cheerful. "It was wonderful. They smelled of lilac and cinnamon." The Goth adds playfully sarcastic.

"Hehe, haha…right, dumb question." Zoey replies slightly embarrassed for having to ask.

"Well, actually, for me it wasn't so bad." Cameron interjects. "Thankfully they put me in my bubble before the balloon when the air was clear. So I didn't have to smell a thing."

Gwen looks at Cameron dumbfounded and unthinkingly says, "I hate you so much…"

"I understand." Cameron says goodheartedly as he chuckles. "I'd likely feel the same way if the roles were reversed. And my heart goes out to those still stuck in them. Even Lightning and Jo and Scott didn't deserve that."

"Tell me about it. I can't believe Chris didn't tie those balloons down! Who knows for how long those poor people were floating surrounded by Owen's farts?" Zoey says.

"Actually, I know." Gwen says. "They were stuck in them for like an hour or so before some people sent by the network found them and popped them free over the ocean. Like I said, us trying to help you win was the least we could do for you saving us from that."

"I guess so." Zoey says. "And besides, you two were the best help a girl could ask for!"

"Oh, come on, Zoey." Cameron says, happily grinning and blushing again. "We didn't help out that much. Well, maybe Gwen did, but I didn't."

"No, no…I disagree." Zoey says, shaking her head. "I couldn't have made it as far as I did without you two guys. Without Gwen's encouragement I never would have made it across that latter before it went up in flames. And don't be so modest, Cam. If it wasn't for you being willing to risk your safety, we'd have never have past the acid moat."

"Here, here. Not to mention, after I hurt my ankle, even with one of your arms in a sling, you never left my side as you helped me continue so we could both help Zoey win." Gwen says before adding with a smile, "You were a regular knight in shining armor."

By now Cameron's face was so red that it could have passed for a flaming tomato. The expression on his face, one of him feeling like he was going to die from embarrassment, was simply one of the cutest things that either girl ever saw! They both started giggling.

As the torrent of chuckles ends, Gwen says, "Wow, you're really a blusher, aren't you?"

"Wa-we-well…wa-what can I say?" Cameron says with considerable difficulty. "I-I didn't interact with others teens till TDRI. Zoey's the only girl I'd spent any real time with before Sierra and you. I guess I'm still not use to getting kind words from girls."

"Well, that does make sense." Zoey says, nodding her head in understanding. "But I'm sure you'll get use to it. After all, if you stay your sweet and frankly adorable self you'll be hearing a lot more kind words from girls."

This only made Cameron blush even more, to Gwen's deep amusement. "Careful Zoey. If you keep praising him, you might break him. And I think Cameron's past his warranty."

Gwen and Zoey laughed while Cameron remained in a blush-based freeze. But as the laughter died down, one of the two female teens showed a slowly growing unease.

"Say, uh, Gwen?"

"Yes, Zoey."

"Um, how are things, with you and Courtney? You know; if you want to talk about?" Zoey asks with a look of preemptive worry and apology already on her face.

"Sure, it's certainly worth discussing." Gwen says, hoping to put Zoey's mind at ease. "A few days ago, Courtney ended up giving me a call. I'm not sure how she got my number. Anyway, she said that she wanted me to meet her at her house the next day."

"Did you go?" Cameron asks, finally be freed from his massive blush and being capable of speech again. "I mean; I saw that you didn't part on the best of terms."

"Sadly, yes." Gwen solemnly confirms. "To be perfectly honest, I almost didn't go. After I spent the entire season trying to repair our friendship, she tried to stab me in the back. I wasn't lying when I said Courtney was one of my best friends but I didn't want to be hurt again. But then I remembered how she eventually forgave me for the Duncan thing."

"So you did go?" Zoey asks.

Gwen nods her head. "Yeah, I did. Courtney said she was happy I came but she was formal about it, even for her. Something didn't feel quite right, and I think she knew I knew. I forget how exactly it happened but suddenly out of nowhere she started crying."

"Courtney was crying!?" Zoey asks, flabbergasted.

"Yeah. She was crying. She kept saying how sorry she was for planning to betray me and how her guilt wouldn't leave her after she was flushed down that giant toilet. I'm doubtful if I've ever seen a person that sad before. And I've certainty had my moments." Gwen says, smiling a smile that didn't seem very happy. "But anyway, I ended up spending the majority of that day reassuring Courtney that I didn't hate her and that I still wanted to be my friend. You would have thought I had removed a blue whale from her back by how happy she became. It only further proved how crappy she had been feeling."

"That's not entirely shocking. Courtney's intense drive to always win does suggest a personality that doesn't form emotional bonds easily with others and would be regretful for severing them when some form of competition isn't present." Cameron comments.

"That's sounds pretty spot-on to me, Bubble Boy." Gwen says with a kind smirk. "So, while I'm going to be a little cautious and slightly distrusting for a little while, Courtney and me are friends again. I'm normally not that forgiving but I couldn't say no after her crying like that. It might bite me in the butt later but I'm happy we are friends again."

"Yay!" Zoey cheers while happily clapping her hands. "I'm glad to hear that! Even though she's clearly got her flaws, I always thought that there was a good person in her."

"Yeah, I think your right." Gwen says, for some reason a glint appeared in her eyes at her noticing that Zoey was taking a drink. "And if you needed proof of that, she even said that she was planning on apologizing to Scott." To Gwen's joy, Zoey did a spit-take.

Coughing hard as Gwen cackled in victory, and with Cameron cackling too, Zoey couldn't help but smirk. "Good one, Gwen. You got me there. But is that for real?"

The Goth nodded her head.

"Is Courtney going to get back together with him?" Cameron asked Gwen worried.

"Heck no! I made sure to ask and luckily she's not hooking up with that Trailer Trash."

"That's a relief. She may not have been the nicest person to me when I was on the Villain's team but that's good to hear." Cameron says.

"Oh, thank God! She could so much better than that creep!" Zoey says, still clearly harboring some hatred towards Scott. "Do you know what she ever saw in him anyway?"

"I have no idea what Courtney saw in that guy. He's basically Duncan if he was dumber, more accident-prone than Goofy, and had even worse personal hygiene. Seriously, I don't think that guy has ever bathed before! I bet if he touched clean water he'd melt away."

"Oh, I think you've discover Scott's secret. He's really the Wicket Witch of the West!" Zoey happily exclaims.

"Seeing him in a black dress would certainty give me nightmares for the rest of my life." Gwen adds. Again, all three of the friends laugh.

"Yeah," Cameron says after laughing. Then, for some reason, he develops a goofy grin. "But I wouldn't mind seeing Courtney in a black dress…" He says absentmindedly.

The moment the words leave his lips, the Bubble Boy looked suddenly horrified. No longer being able to blink or breathe, his eyes quickly dart in between Gwen and Zoey. They both looked stunned and remain just as silent and still for the first few seconds. Then, ever so slowly, they both start to show smirks that just seem to keep growing. Parallel to this was Cameron's blushing, again threatening to overpower his face.

"Well, well, well…it looks like…" Gwen starts to say calmly before…

"Cameron wants to kiss Courtney again! EEEEE!" Zoey happily squeals while clapping.

Again, Cameron's social awkwardness concerning girls shined through his newest blush.

"Wa-well-well, uh, yea-yes. Well…that was actually my first kiss. It felt like pressing my face against meat," Cameron says with some difficulty as he brought a finger up to his face before bringing his hands together with closed eyes and a smile, "…but nice!"

Gwen, despite herself, chuckled at the adorableness of Cam's romantic naïveté. She then turned to Zoey. "Well, look at him Zoey, our little Cammy's discovered he likes girls. They grow up so fast!" Then she returned her attention to the reddening Bubble Boy. "And don't forget Mr. Casanova, I gave you a little kiss too during the finale. It looks like your on your way to becoming quite the little ladies' men." Gwen teased, again smirking.

"Yeah, that's a good point. You better be careful Cameron or your gonna have both Gwen and Courtney fighting over you." Zoey says with an impish delight and smirk.

Cameron didn't respond to the teasing of either girl. He didn't respond to anything. Struggling to wrap his head around that possibly, of two beautiful girls fighting over him, Cameron's mouth had slowly fallen until it couldn't drop any more. The Bubble Boy's already large eyes had grown to over three times their natural size, with them so large that they were bigger than the lens of his glasses (don't ask how they did but they did). He was now blushing so much that his black face almost looked purple. That last bit had done it. Whatever capacity for intelligent thought or simply just speaking in general Cameron had in him left him then. His MESA-level mind had been blown wide open!

Suddenly, Cameron's body went rigid as he sat up straight like a meerkat that heard a possible predator approaching. With the most happily dopey smile one could imagine and a happy squeal, the Brilliant Black Bubble Boy fell off of the side of his chair onto the restaurant floor with his body just as happily rigid. Hitting the ground, he didn't scream.

Both girls rushed over the fallen Bubble Boy. After checking his stable vitals and that he was still breathing, they both breathed sighs of relief. Even so, his face was just as blushing and smiling dopey as it was when he fell, remaining completely unchanged.

"I think we just broke Cameron. Whoops." Zoey says sheepishly with a finger to her lips.

"So much for that warranty. Maybe we should loosen up on the playful teasing of him, yes?" Gwen asks Zoey, who nods her head. "Hey, could you please get me some water?"

The Redhead nods again and brings the Teal-highlighted-head her glass of water. "He really is such a sweetie though. I hope he finds a great, pretty girl who treats him right."

"Agreed." Gwen says as Zoey hands her the glass. "In fact, I'll insist. How about if we ever find that a girl is being crappy to him, we double-team her ungrateful ass? Deal?"

The Goth's pale face now had a devilish smirk that could be seen as both hot and threatening as she reached out her empty, pale and ghost-white hand towards Zoey.

Matching the Goth's smirk with a similar one of her own, Zoey shook it with her slightly less white hand. God have mercy on any unlucky girls who didn't treat Cameron right!

Returning to matters of the present though, Gwen threw the water onto Cameron's face. With the trance he was just in broken, Cameron started to cough violently in great shock. After he regained his bearings, Cameron got back into his chair without saying a word.

As Gwen and Zoey did as well, they saw how embarrassed he looked and felt ashamed.

While she was rubbing her arm, Gwen was looking down as she says, "Listen Cam, I…"

"We're sorry for teasing you so much. Can you forgive us?" Zoey asks, for both of them.

Looking at shocked at hearing them both say this, there's a brief pause before Cam says, "Oh, its no problem, guys. I didn't take offense to it. You just want me to be happy."

Both girls saw how Cameron was smiling at them and they both smiled back in kind.

"Uh-uh." Gwen says, speaking for both her and Zoey. "That's right. You're a good guy, Cam. And I'd have no problems with you hooking up with Courtney. You'd be a welcomed change of pace in guy for her. In fact, maybe I could try helping you court, Court? One thing you have to do before that is apologize for kissing her in the mines."

Cameron moaned before saying, "Uh, I still can't believe I fell for Mal's dirty trick!?"

The Bubble Boy then covered his mouth with his hands. Both he and Gwen now looked at Zoey unsurely. The two of them had agreed before meeting for lunch the first time to not bring up Mal around Zoey. While they both knew that the evil personality of Mike's was a thing of the past, they didn't want to risk upsetting their friend by bringing up something that she may not have moved on from. It could still be a sensitive issue.

"Guys, its ok. You don't have to walk on eggshells around me when it comes to Mal." Zoey assures her now uncomfortable looking friends with a warm smile.

"Ra-really?" Gwen asks, her voice somewhere between relieved and shocked.

"Yup. Mal's no longer an issue. He can never try to hurt me or Mike ever again."

Cameron and Gwen looked pleased…and yet still slightly guilty.

"That's good to hear." Cameron says while smiling slightly awkwardly. "Listen, Zoey…I'm really sorry about saying that Mike was gone for good during the finale."

"Me too." Gwen adds.

"Like I just said, its ok. Even I thought that was the case." Zoey says looking sad. Then her expression was a joyful one as she says, "I've never been so happy to be wrong!"

"How's Mike holding up?" Cameron asks, not realizing this could undermine Zoey's joy. The still in many ways socially inexperienced Bubble Boy didn't realize this until he saw much of the joy sucked from Zoey's face. "Uh…you don't have to answer that if you-?"

"No, no, its fine Cam. I'm sure you guys are curious." Zoey says seeming sweet yet slightly solemn. "Mike's taken this whole Mal thing a lot harder than I have. He feels guilty about having lost control of himself for so long and what Mal did during TDAS. Even though I say its ok, he's racked with guilt over what Mal could have done to me. And he's torn up about what happened to his other personalities. He knows there are not really dead and still a part of him but it still feels like they sacrificed themselves for him. He's starting to see a psychiatrist and I'm hoping that he can start feeling better soon. Say, if we do this again, could Mike come too? He'd like to apologize to you personally."

"Mike has nothing to apologize for but of course, we'd be ok with him joining us." Cameron says. "Right, Gwen?"

"No doubt." The Goth says.

The Indie Chick looked very relieved to see the support of her two clos friends. Even so, there was still something eating away at her, some thought that wouldn't go away.

"Thanks, guys. I feel so sorry for Mike. Ugh! I still feel like the biggest idiot in the world. How did I not catch onto Mal sooner!?" Zoey says, almost shouting at herself.

"Zoey, its ok. He played Mike so well that even I didn't know until he told me himself. And I'm the guy who was able to figure out that Mike at MPD in the first place." Cameron says.

"Yeah, I guess so. But Duncan warned me about Mal and even then I didn't catch on."

"Believe me, I know that I wouldn't have even given him the benefit of the doubt." Gwen seethes, clearly still harboring some bad feelings towards the Punk. "And yeah, maybe you should have caught on a little sooner but I don't think you should feel that guilty. Like Cam said, Mal fooled even him. Besides, as Total Drama shows, people don't always do what they should when someone they care about doesn't act like himself. Trust me," Gwen's voice started to become lower and softer as she says, "I would know."

The Goth looked down at her empty plate. Zoey and Cameron looked at each other.

"Listen, I'm not normally someone who looks on the bright side of life…" Gwen starts to say solemnly before Zoey without thinking starts humming the tune of the song _"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"_, causing both girls to smile and chuckle. "Ah, yes. Good old Monty Python. Ha, ha. But seriously Zoey, even if you didn't catch on for a while, what matters is that Mal was defeated, Mike is back, and you two are happy together. That's certainly more than I can say for me and Trent."

Again Gwen was looking at the table, the memories of Trent often still stung her deeply. Thankfully for the Goth a white hand took her even whiter hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Looking up, Gwen saw a smiling Zoey.

"Thanks Gwen, that means a lot." Zoey says smiling. "Do you still feel bad about Trent?"

"Yeah, I do." Gwen admits. "There were so many ways I could have handled things better but I didn't. And that was just the latest example of my failures in the boy department." She then sighs. "Maybe I just wasn't meant to find a good boyfriend?"

"No! That's not true!" Zoey nearly shouts, catching both Gwen and Cameron off-guard, in particular Gwen whose hand the Indie Chick was now squeezing much tighter. "That's what I used to think when every guy in my hometown who was gorgeous were jerky jocks and juvie rejects with a collective I.Q. of ten. I thought I'd never find a guy. And that made me feel terrible. But then I found Mike and…well, you know the rest." Zoey's eyes, which were brown flames when she saw in Gwen the negativity that had once gripped her so strongly, now softened up considerably as they looked at the Goth's teal ones. "It might not seem like it now but it will work out. You're a great girl and friend, Gwen. I know for sure that there's a guy out their just waiting for you to find them."

"It would appear that there's a very strong probability of that happening, logically anyway." Cameron comments. "Of all the girls on Total Drama, you've had the largest number of guys interested in you, Gwen, with three. Of course I mean Trent, Duncan, and Cody. So it is logical now that you've redeemed yourself after what happened with Duncan the guys will be swarming all over you like vultures over a bull carcass." Cameron says before his eyes go wide in horror. "No wait, that was a terrible analogy! I didn't-" He starts to say panicking until Gwen raises one of her hands with a calm smile.

"Its ok, Cameron. There's no need to apologize. I actually liked that analogy. It more fitting for me than something like saying 'they'll swarm over me like bees on honey'."

"Though I'm sure they will." Zoey chines in which causes all three of them to laugh.

After the laughter died down, Gwen says, "Yeah, I'm especially sure since…no, no."

"What is it? What were you going to say?" Zoey asks.

"It's nothing, really. Let's just forget it." Gwen says, trying to stop some kind of look from forming.

"It doesn't seem like nothing. Given your choices of words it seems that you know something is going to happen, or at least that you're planning on starting something soon. And given the topic of our discussion so far, I'd say it involves you dating a boy. So the most logical explanation is that…" Cameron says, showing his calm intellect, before…

"There's a guy who Gwen wants to ask out!" Zoey happily exclaims. The Indie Chick was immediately in Gwen's pale face, having moved her chair to Gwen's very quickly, grinning eagerly. Her hands were clasped, almost shaking in anticipation and happiness. "Come on, Gwen! Who's the lucky guy? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Zoey, there isn't any guy." Gwen says, now fighting the impulse to start grinning.

"Is it Trent?"

"From what I hear he found a girlfriend recently so can we…"

"He might not be as bad as you think he is, maybe, but please tell me its not Duncan!?"

"He's still in jail, not to mention he wouldn't be any more desirable if he weren't behind bars, now please just…"

"Ooohh…I bet I know. Are you thinking of asking out Co-"

"Zoey! Could you please drop this!?" Gwen quickly replies, turning to hide the faint pink blush now on her face.

Now Zoey was grinning ear-to-ear. "AW! Gwen wants to ask Cody out! That's so cute!"

"Wha-what!? No, no I don't! I was, uh, I-I was just…just…" Gwen tries to say before sighing. "Ok, yeah, I had been considering it, ok. But I'm not sure if I should or not."

"Why are you not sure?" Cameron asks.

"I'm unsure of what Cody is, and what he could be." Gwen says, being unknowingly cryptic. Realizing this when she saw the looks on her friends' faces, she added, "Uh, I mean I'm not sure that if I asked him out that he wouldn't turn into a male Sierra."

"Oh…I think I understand." Cameron says, cringing at remembering the female Sierra. "Even after facing giant, often angry radioactive mutants during Revenge of the Island, somehow Sierra scared me more than them. Uh…is that idea unusual or nonsensical?"

"Not at all. Trust me, she was calling you Cody, thinking that you were him." Zoey says.

"Well, Rudyard Kipling did say that 'The female of the species is deadlier than the male'." Gwen says.

"Right, from his poem _"The Female of the Species"_, written in 1911." Cameron adds, as he does Gwen smiles at finally knowing someone who gets literary references like that. "And after seeing you two at work on Total Drama, I agree. You two can be frightening."

"Aw, come on Cameron! Me and Gwen haven't been that bad…uh, have we?"

"Zoey, she fended off a real life psycho-killer-with-a-chainsaw-and-a-hook and shot a feral, mutated teenager in the face with a meatball bazooka. You reduced Scott to a wheelchair and full body cast, and took on a sadistic, remorseless alternate personality."

"Oh…right…" Zoey weakly says while looking down, realizing that Cameron was right.

"But I don't think either you or Gwen are bad." Cameron says with a smile to Zoey. "You and her have both saved my life at least once and are among my closest friends. Just because you two are tough and can be frightening doesn't mean I think your bad."

"Thanks Cameron! Your so sweet!" Zoey gushed at the Bubble Boy, making him blush for the latest in a seemingly endless number of times in the period of their lunch date.

"I don't normally like endorsing sweetness, but yes, I think you are too. You really do deserve a girlfriend who doesn't see you as someone else and knows what boundaries are." Gwen adds, making Cameron's blush even redder, to hers' and Zoey's amusement. Even though both swore to not make him blush, it was so cute that they couldn't help it. "Besides, I kind of like the idea of being a little frightening. It feels kinda fitting for me."

"Gee, you don't say? I can't imagine why?" Zoey asks with a playful grin.

"It's shocking, I know." Gwen replies with a grin and expression just as playful.

The three friends laughed. Gwen in particular laughed loudly and felt more at ease.

* * *

The already ordered meals for Cameron, Gwen, and Zoey arrived at their shared table. As they all ate, they continued their conversations that covered a wide range of topics.

Of the three though, it was Gwen who had the most thoughts rattling around in her mind. She often thought of the previous season of Total Drama, maybe her last one, hopefully. She thought about how she entered the season as a shunned "boyfriend stealer" who was in a strained at best relationship. She thought about how much she longed to regain the friendship of Courtney that she so foolishly threw away for fickle fleshy impulses. By the merge of that same season, a trade was made. She, in effect, traded Duncan for Courtney. That combined with the joys of her revived friendship with Courtney and budding ones with Cameron and Zoey oddly enough may have made this season the kindest to her. However, then she received a painful double-whammy. First, she discovered that Courtney was planning on betraying her, hurting her more deeply than she'd admit. Second, she was flushed down a giant toilet thanks to Chris's omnipresent vainglory.

What had a rocky start had morphed into something great only to have a painful finish whose only solace was her being help to help her new friend and her suffering boyfriend…and being able to hit Heather in the head with a pole.

Ever concerned about karma and the universe, Gwen's introspectiveness probed her.

The future seemed to be as it always was to the Goth…bearing down like an express train. What would constitute her future was vague and uncertain, full of questions.

Could she and Courtney remain friends? Were they even truly friends or just saying so?

Should she attempt to ask out Cody? Could he or anyone be the boyfriend she hoped for?

Should she try to set Cam up with Courtney or maybe try to hook up with him herself?

Was this truly the last time she'd be trapped into Total Drama or would it get her again?

If she was done with Total Drama, what now? Would her life amount to anything else?

Had she truly grown as a person or did she just break up with a jerk and believe she had?

Was it hopeless to expect the happiness she felt now to remain when life gets hard again?

But most of all…had being on Total Drama All-Stars changed her for the better or not? Had it all be worth it?

Gwen, like many, couldn't give any definite answers to these questions. But as she sat there, enjoying a delicious meal and the kinds of social interactions rarely know to her before, she felt good. As her meal was vanishing bite by bite, she thought of suggesting that the three of them do this again. Maybe bringing Courtney and Mike along as well?

She didn't know if she could call her experiences on Total Drama All-Stars good or not. But there was one thing that she did know.

Even with Courtney's betrayal and the uncertain state of their friendship, even with being flushed down a giant toilet, even with all of the torment she endured since kissing Duncan…the guilt and despair that had been weighting her down like stones were gone.

When she hugged Courtney in that boxing ring and healed their painful severed bond, when she saved Cameron's life in the mines, when she found a kindly kindred spirit in Zoey…Gwen felt as light and free as a raven.

And sitting here now with Cameron and Zoey…Gwen felt that way again.

She couldn't speak for anyone else but after TDAS…Gwen was light and free.

* * *

**And there you have it! As I already said, I really enjoyed writing this one-shot but please let me know what you thought. Did I portray all three characters correctly and did I capture some of the dynamics that might develop between these three? **

**I'm still unsure about TDAS as a whole but I at least like it for making this super-enjoyable one-shot possible. Even if I end up being more con than pro towards it, there's at least that. **

**The song that Zoey was humming while Gwen was talking, **_**"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"**_**, comes from the great 1979 comedy "Monty Python's Life of Brian". If you haven't seen this movie, watch it. It is hilarious. But also, look up this song on Youtube. Even with the intentionally clashing context of the song in the movie, it never fails to make me feel better even if I'm in an otherwise bleak mood. **

**As you might have picked up on, there are hints to the couples Gwen/Cody, Gwen/Cameron, and Courtney/Cameron. I think any of these are just adorable! It is completely up to you which couples form after this one-shot's events. And seeing as at least two of them are pretty new, please let me know your thoughts on them, ok? **

**All right, so, I'll end this by saying that I have a few more new things on the way for your enjoyment. Those of you who talk with me regularly likely know what I mean. **

**But even if you don't, please ****review, favor, and spread the word! :)**


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